IceRays can't find offense in loss to Topeka

IceRays see winless streak reach four games

photos by GEORGE TULEY/SPECIAL TO THE CALLER-TIMES
Early in the first period, the IceRays' Trevor Heuser (5) blocks a shot by Topeka's Tyler Poulsen at the American Bank Center on Saturday. IceRays' head coach Justin Quenneville (below) talks to the team during a stop in the action in the first period.

CORPUS CHRISTI - It would be hard to deny that the IceRays weren't better across the board Saturday night.

Unfortunately for Corpus Christi, the bottom line again wasn't in its favor.

The Topeka RoadRunners took advantage of their limited opportunities and made the IceRays pay for their mistakes, handing Corpus Christi a 3-1 loss at the American Bank Center.

With the weekend sweep, Corpus Christi (2-3-3, 7 points) saw its winless streak reach four games. Despite holding the RoadRunners to just 22 shots, the IceRays couldn't come up with the timely goal to turn a tight game in their favor.

"We worked hard again, outplayed them, outshot them and outchanced them, but nobody remembers the team that should've, could've, would've," IceRays coach Justin Quenneville said. "It's the two points at the end of the night that they'll remember.

"Give credit to Topeka, they're a good hockey team. Obviously, there's a reason they're (6-0-1). We were the better team for five out of six periods (this weekend), but it's still not good enough. That's the difference at this level — you just can't tell yourself you're a good hockey team. You have to show people."

What really hurt the IceRays was their inefficiency on the power play. They failed to score on eight chances Saturday after going 0 for 6 with the man advantage on Friday.

"We knew coming in that Topeka blocks a lot of shots and we were trying to throw everything on net and crash (the crease)," said forward Eric Purcell, who scored the IceRays' lone goal. "They were blocking some big-time shots and you've got to give credit to them, but we've got to start capitalizing on our chances."

With the score deadlocked at 1, Topeka moved ahead in the final minute of the second period.

After forward Emil Romig tried to outlet the puck through the middle of the ice, the IceRays lost it in the neutral zone. Topeka's Kyle Sharkey took possession, entered the offensive zone and was knocked off the puck by Corpus Christi defenseman Ryan Chiasson.

But as Sharkey fell to the ice, he pushed the puck up to Sean Gaffney in the right circle. Gaffney cutting to the net and slipping the puck past goalie Dillon Kelley with 33.9 seconds left, marring what had been a solid period for the IceRays.

"That's coming from one of our players who normally would make the right play, but chose to make the wrong play and it ended up in the back of our net," Quenneville said. "It's unfortunate, but it's how it goes in those situations."

Topeka iced the game late in the third period. Handed a five-on-three power play with 4 minutes, 27 seconds to go, the RoadRunners needed just 19 seconds to cash in, with Kyle Sharkey knocking in a rebound.

The IceRays trailed 1-0 a little more than five minutes into the game.